US reform bill to aid licensing process

To improve the licensing process for hydro power facilities in the US, Senator Larry Craig introduced a bill in October called the Hydroelec-tric Licensing Process Improve-ment Act of 1998. The national-hydropower-association (NHA) said that it was pleased with Senator Craig’s approach to reform.

NHA’s executive director Linda Church Ciocci said: ‘This bill would not diminish or undermine the mandatory conditioning authority of federal resource agencies but would give them more responsibility and accountability in their exercise of authority They would be required to take a broader view of the impacts of their decisions, including the impacts to air quality, drinking water, recreation and the reliability and capacity of the US electric grid.’ Craig’s action has further advanced the dialogue begun by NHA between Congress and the administration. ‘We look forward to working with Senator Craig to achieve bi-partisan support for the bill,’ Church Ciocci added.